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“About 12 years ago, Bob Gross of Brainerd, Minnesota, entered a robotics competition with his 11-year-old daughter. Much to their frustration, they kept having problems with their robot’s sensor — the closest thing it had to eyes. A sensor allows a robot to determine, for example, the distance and angle to a goal post. Competing well without one is next to impossible.

…Today Gross is CEO of Brainerd-based MaxBotix, which makes more than 180 sensors designed to tackle a range of tasks, from distance measurement to proximity sensing. The sensors are deployed not only in robots, but also in security systems and human interfacing devices. “